The Italian GP 2016 results, photos and report, Monza Circuit 2016. Nico Rosberg has won the Italian GP 2016, his very first win at Monza leading Hamilton to seal a 1-2 finish for Mercedes. The Brit started from pole but fell back almost immediately, a good race strategy however ensured that the Mercs stayed on top. It’s the seventh win for Rosberg this season, Hamilton only heads him in the championship by 2 points.

Close battle between Ros and Ham, 7 wins for the German vs 6 wins for the Brit this year. 2 points difference in the standings.

Italian GP 2016 Results

P1: Nico Rosberg – Mercedes
P2: Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
P3: Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari
P4: Kimi Raikkonen – Ferrari
P5: Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull
P6: Valtteri Bottas – Williams
P7: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
P8: Sergio Perez – Force India
P9: Felipe Massa – Williams
P10: Nico Hulkenberg – Force India

Following Felipe Massa’s announcement of his retirement from Formula 1 after the 2016 season, McLaren driver Jenson Button has also announced that he will take a break during the 2017 season and instead act as a McLaren reserve driver and ambassador. He will be replaced by GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne.

As one of the oldest Grands Prix in history, the Italian GP has been held for a record number 85 times since 1921. It became part of the Formula 1 calendar in 1950 and has been held every year since then. All the Formula 1 Italian GPs have taken place at the Temple of Speed, Monza circuit except the 1980 edition which was moved to Imola. The Italian GP has also served as the European Grand Prix seven times between 1923 and 1967. Michael Schumacher has the most wins here at five while Ferrari leads the manufacturer category with 19 wins!

Hamilton had a bad start at the Italian GP 2016 and it was Rosberg who grabbed the lead, followed by Vettel in the Ferrari. The Brit was pushed down to sixth. After the first lap, Rosberg led Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas, Hamilton and Ricciardo. Mercedes was on soft tires while majority of the front grid was on supersoft, likewise, the back grid was on soft tires.

There was contact between Palmer and Nasr at the first chicane on lap 3, the Renault suffered a broken wing while the Sauber was left spinning. The two drivers made unexpected stops after that shunt.

“Remember Lewis, the three cars ahead [Vettel, Raikkonen, Bottas] are on super-soft tyres, they’ll be quick for a few laps then they will degrade.” Mercedes told Hamilton. Meanwhile, Rosberg was only setting fastest times lap after lap.

Nasr retired on lap 8 due to that earlier incident which was now under investigation. Palmer also made another stop, this time the signs were not good as his team evaluated the damage on his car.

After 12 laps of 53, Rosberg led the field away from Vettel, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Bottas, Ricciardo, Perez, Massa, Verstappen and Alonso in the top ten. Hamilton had managed to pass the Williams of Bottas on lap 11 at the first chicane. Nasr while having already retired was handed a 10s penalty for the incident with Palmer.

Williams called in Bottas for his first stop, giving him new softs in place of the supersoft, Alonso and Verstappen also stopped for a set of softs. “Ok Lewis, looks like other cars might be going for a two-stop. We’re going to stick with Plan A.” Mercedes told Hamilton in what appeared to be a one-stop plan. Both Ferraris pitted and picked on more supersofts meaning they were on a two-stop strategy.

By lap 17, Rosberg had a 15s lead over Hamilton who was now in second place. The Ferraris were right behind, Vettel in third and Raikkonen in fourth.

Palmer was quite angry after retiring, speaking to channel 4, he said: “I tried to take a place from Nasr and he forced me off the track and we crashed. He kept driving into me until either we crashed or I went in the gravel.”

When asked about Nasr’s penalty, he replied: “The thing is the penalty for him is irrelevant – a 10-second time penalty for someone out the race. I think it should be a grid penalty for the next race.”

In his defense, Nasr said: “If I say it’s right or wrong it’s not going to change anything now. The race is over for me and for him. I clearly had the car ahead and I felt a big hit coming from the rear.”

Rosberg made his one stop on lap 25, picking up new mediums and rejoined behind Hamilton in second. Hamilton made his stop too and picked up mediums as well, he rejoined behind the Ferraris in fourth. The Mercedes duo was now going to the end on that set, the two cars were exchanging fastest times even on mediums, with Hamilton shooting a 1m26.303s lap. Meanwhile, Wehrlein became the third driver to retire after Nasr and Palmer.

Vettel and Raikkonen dived into the pits at around the same time on lap 34 and 35, they both picked soft tires to take them to the end. Hamilton thus moved to P2 and was now 11s behind Rosberg. More stops came from Hulkenberg, Verstappen, Massa, Gutierrez and Kvyat.

The battle was left to Hamilton and Rosberg who were closely indulged at the front, the Brit locked up at one point while trying to catch up, the gap went up from 11s to 13s.

Plan seems to have worked, Alonso ended the race with the fastest lap on 1m25.340s.

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